Bulgaria's average salary grows to 704 leva in September

The average monthly pay in Bulgaria rose by 21 leva to 704 leva in September compared to the previous month, the National Statistics Institute (NSI) said on November 8 2011.

In the third quarter, the average salary in the country stood at 693 leva, down by one per cent in quarterly terms. People engaged in activities related to property, financial and insurance services saw the steepest decline in wages over this period.

In annual terms, the average wage in the country grew by nine per cent in July-September. The monthly salary in the private sector went up by 11 per cent, while the public sector recorded a three per cent rise.

As of end-September, the number of employed Bulgarians stood at 2.19 million, down by 0.5 per cent compared to June, with businesses dealing with real estate, hotels and restaurants recording the highest increase in redundancies, of 13 per cent.